Happy Thanksgiving To All Those Celebrating Today

We always hear about the Thanksgiving celebrations from our Western friends, but do you know the history of the festival?

It is acknowledged today that one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies was in 1621, when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast. Thanksgiving is a holiday that has been celebrated for generations in the USA but it wasn’t actually until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that a Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed to be held each November by President Abraham Lincoln.

In 1621, when the Plymouth Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower, they were severely malnourished and suffering from outbreaks of contagious disease and only half of the passengers ever made it onto the shores. When they did, they were greeted by Native Americans who taught them how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. In the November of 1621 and after the success of the Pilgrim’s first corn Harvest, Governor William Bradford organised a celebratory feast and invited a group of Native American allies. It was this that is now remembered as the first Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims held a second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had threatened the harvest and prompted Governor Bradford to call for a religious fast. Days of Fasting and Thanksgiving on an annual or occasional basis then became common practice. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year. In 1789, George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States, calling for Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion of the war for Independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. In 1863 and in the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that all Americans should ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”He then scheduled Thanksgiving to be held on the final Thursday in November and it was celebrated on this date until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s plan, known derisively as Franksgiving, was met with passionate opposition, and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

In many American households, the religious significance of Thanksgiving has now been lost and instead, it now largely involves cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends.

Charlotte Bourne and the Taylor Gibbs team have been extremely helpful and efficient in managing the whole process when we bought our house. They are reactive and always available for any question we had, which is really reassuring in such a complicated and stressful process. We would definitely recommend them if you are looking to buy.

Ms E Cavaillero

So much different to all the other agencies I've had experience with. Taylor Gibbs offer proper support, understanding, personal attitude and prompt responses any day of the week, also in any of the emergency cases. On top of that very transparent, clear with t&c and all the paperwork. So far feeling looked after very well :)))

Mr M Polaszewski

I have worked with Taylor Gibbs for a number of years now and I couldn't recommend them highly enough. Their professionalism and local knowledge is second to none. Thank you for all your work.

K Cymerman

Charlotte Bourne is a force to reckoned with. The only Lettings Agent to answer the phone on a Saturday morning, she was round within hours to view the property and had a tenant viewing lined up within 48hrs - which she closed. Job done. Brilliant.

J Swanton

Taylor Gibbs has been excellent in the buying process, especially thanks to help from Miles. Always very responsive, frank and honest in the process and very easy to deal with.

J Zhu

Not much more that I can add to the other reviews here. I've been dealing with them for over 20 years and it's so nice to be dealing with true independents rather than the chains. They feel like friends who I know I can rely upon to give me fresh, local and impartial advice...and I listen to them! Highly recommended.

Mr J Salmon

I found Taylor Gibbs fantastic to work with. They were extremely accommodating with my schedule for viewings and once I decided I was interested in the property and requested additional viewings they were extremely helpful in arranging times that suited me. They had great local knowledge of the area which was very useful when considering the...

Ms A Obrien

Keith Walker

Extremely pleasant, professional and helpful staff. Wouldn't hesitate to use Taylor Gibbs again in the future or to recommend them to others

Testimonial from tenant

The Taylor Gibbs team did another great job of finding us a tenant for one of our flats in Highgate. Miles and Oscar are a pleasure to deal with and respond efficiently and accurately to requests. Their professional manner and impressive knowedge about the property and the area mean that we go back to them again and again to find tenants.

Richard & Gary

Excellent service all the way through that was very efficient and friendly. Zia Taylor set a price, that I thought might be too high, however they exceeded the value well within my timescales. Charlotte and Miles made it very easy for me. Thank you

Mark Gallop

Charlotte is a first class professional - always goes the extra mile, and delivers personal service as she cares so much - an unusual trait in an estate agent. would not hesitate to recommend them as an agency

Jacquie O'Donnell

Thanks Miles and Charlotte for all your hard work over the past few years. Your professionalism in all aspects of our tenancy, whether it was dealing with the landlord on our behalf our liaising with contractors to get work done was second to none.
You certainly provided the professional support that we would expect from a lettings agency...

David & Ally

Both Charlotte and Miles were very professional and efficient. Also a young lady at the office called Rosie is just wonderful to deal with.

S. Bonato

Miles was brilliant throughout this transaction. I believe that, without his hard work, a lot of it above and beyond his remit, the sale would not have been completed. I would not hesitate in recommending Miles & Taylor Gibbs!

Geoff Quinn

We bought & sold our property through Taylor Gibbs. We found them excellent. The person that stood out was Charlotte Bourne, she made our lives very easy, it was made a stress free process, I'd use them again. We were very happy by the professional, & friendly approach we experienced. We also rented our property through them too. All in...

Charles Astley

We were delighted with the service we received from Taylor Gibbs from our very first visit from Charlotte. They not only arranged a truly successful open house at our flat, but then secured numerous offers on the property - with a fair number over the asking price. Since arranging the sale, we've had speedy and no nonsense dealings with them...

Kerry M

You have been a Star and gone way over and beyond on my behalf – I am so grateful and will henceforth sing your praises to any prospective renter, buyer or seller!

Mary Cawley

We've really enjoyed and valued working with you on this (which is our first experience of selling!).

Katie Smith

Thank you very much for all your help, you have by far been the most professional and knowledgeable agent I have dealt with. I wish you the best of luck.

Oxley

Charlotte is a cool-headed professional in a heated housing market. She has the ability to use lateral thinking to progress and resolve the inevitable problems which arise during negotiations and to do this to everyone's satisfaction. I would recommend her both for selling and buying property.

Farey T

I have been consistently impressed with Taylor Gibbs, from the viewing to receiving the keys today. You have always replied quickly to my queries and have made the entire 'moving in process' much easier! So, I wanted to extend my thanks to Charlotte, Joe who showed me around the flat and to the Highgate team.

M Goodwin

I have experienced nothing less than first-class service. They have been friendly, efficient, supportive and very helpful. I wholeheartedly recommend them

S Rees

Just a quick word to thank Taylor Gibbs for their work over the last few weeks. Particular mention has to be made about Charlotte (and Miles) who were very helpful on the phone when we were buying and negotiating thru the minefield for a loft that was promised but never part of the property. Terrific local knowledge and micro-knowledge about...

H Sands

A big thank you to Miles and Charlotte for turning my let around so swiftly! Thank you to you both!

M Merila

Miles Ponder has been very helpful throughout the lettings process and made it efficient and easy, would certainly recommend.

M Martin

Charlotte was fantastic! We were in a difficult situation having lost our purchase and needed to find a rental quickly. Charlotte was efficient and sympathetic to our situation. After many difficulties with estate agents on our sale / failed purchase, it was a pleasant surprise that this aspect went so well and I would have no hesitation in...

L Auty

Miles Ponder was very professional, helpful and responsive. We rented a flat in July and since the very beginning we had only the best experience. There were four of us so we needed more than one viewing which wasn't a problem at all. I have recommended Taylor Gibbs to my friends and would recommend their services to anyone.

K Paulins

Charlotte was professional, committed and efficient during the transaction. She dealt with all our enquiries swiftly and offered us insightful advice and local knowledge. It was a pleasure doing business with her.

F Mannan

The person we met (Miles) was patient, professional and trustworthy. Rare qualities in this line of business!

J Letessier

Charlotte could not have been more helpful. She was such a pleasure to deal with and I would most certainly go back to Taylor Gibbs in the future based on my experience with her, and the other members of staff whom I spoke to on the phone

A Tanner

Huge thanks to Glenn, Mark and Charlotte for getting this deal to exchange of contracts - it truly could not have been done without Taylor Gibbs efforts, handholding and expertise. We really do appreciate everything that you have done for us in the sales process.

T Mokijewski

Charlotte was quite literally brilliant. Her willingness to put in the extra effort made all the difference - it really did save the day.

M King

We were always keen to use a local agent but one which was respected in the local area. We have received regular honest updates on the progression of interested parties and their view of the local market in general. The difference in approach to the other agent that we used was material and re-affirmed our choice for Taylor Gibbs to...

T Cussins

A big thank you to Taylor Gibbs for doing such a fantastic job in securing a tenant for my flat. I especially want to acknowledge Miles Ponder for being so upfront with me and being so hands on. His persistence in finding the ideal tenant really paid off. After all these years, I'm really happy with you and the Taylor Gibbs team and I would...

T Rose

I'm very happy with the service provided, the knowledge of the staff and more importantly the consistent success with letting my property at a top rent.

N Stevens

Charlotte at Taylor Gibbs was a star! She had sold our flat almost as soon as we had instructed Taylor Gibbs. What's more, she was great at helping us arrange the place we were buying too – she worked really hard to iron out an agreement and make the thing work. If it wasn't for her commitment and professionalism, we probably would not...